> it seems im not the only one who is unsure about actions and ECīs.
So another way to look at it is simply scale.
A simple contest is relatively abstract. "Conan climbs the sheer tower." "Harrek the Berserk kills Onslaught the Humakti."
An extended contest goes into detail. "Conan grabs for a vine -- but it breaks. He breaks his fall on a ledge. 2 RP against him." (rinse & repeat)
It may well be that each bit of detail can be summarized the same: "Conan tries to climb a little higher." "Harrek deals Onslaught another unhealable wound." Psychologically and mechanically it's not the same as a simple contest, resolved in a single roll. The odds aren't quite the same (which is unfortunate), but an extended contest gives more scope to using hero points, or to get help from friends ("Angelina heals Onslaught. And Leika throws darts at Harrek, distracting him.").
But the overall purpose of extended contests isn't to provide for tactics (even though the smaller scale does in fact do this). It's to model the relative importance of the contest, in terms of how much "screen time" it occupies in your story.
David Dunham
Glorantha/HQ/RQ page: www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha.html
Imagination is more important than knowledge. -- Albert Einstein
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